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Friday, December 29, 2017

Let an Object Inspire a Question

A Gift from K to Me

Photo by Amy LV

Students - Isn't that quilt square beautiful? A friend just sent it to me...and she made a matching one for herself. So even though we live far away from each other, we can look at our quilt squares and feel our friendship. I love it. In fact, I love it so much that it made me want to write a poem as a way of thanking my friend K.

Sometimes an object can give a person a big feeling. This quilt square made me think about how much I love handmade gifts, both receiving and giving them. It made made ask a question to all who read the poem - an invitation to remember any handmade gifts from our pasts.

You might want to try this. Walk around your home or outside or look around inside your backpack or desk and choose an object. Think about the questions it inspires. List these questions, choose one, and write!

This poem almost grew up to be a Shakespearean - or English - sonnet. But it stopped growing at line 12. See, if this were a complete sonnet, there would be a rhyming couplet (two lines) at the end. And as I wrote this, I chose to leave the question hanging rather than to wrap it up with a couplet including my reflection. Yes, the poem had a mind of its own!

Over at my other blog, Sharing Our Notebooks, you can find a wonderful peek into Julie Patterson's notebooks. Leave a comment...and you just may win a book. Do so soon as there will be a new post up after January 1.

Heidi is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup over at my juicy little universe with a beautiful celebration of poems about trees...and a photo of some lovely handmade gifts too. Please visit! We meet weekly, and everyone is invited.

Happy glorious last Poetry Friday of 2017 to all of you! I am very grateful for this community...for those of you I know personally and those of you whom I have not yet met. See you in 2018!

It is a beautiful thing to have someone create a gift just for you. Lovely poem, Amy. Ingrid likes making things for others and made some for her Christmas gifts, such a sweet thing. And I have a special wooden spoon made for me by Arvie's uncle from a walnut tree's wood he had saved. Happy New Year!

This is lovely, Amy! Your poems always make me feel like a friend has taken me by the hand. Oh, and Congratulations on having your book on the list of Nerdy Book winners! Happy New year. I hope 2018 hold many similar honors for you and your books.

Homemade gifts are so rich! I love picturing them as kittens curled in my soul, soft and warm and comforting. I'm sure your friend treasures this poem just as much as you treasure your beautiful quilt square. Congrats on the Nerdy Book Club honor and best wishes for a wonderful 2018!

This Christmas I received two sweet student-made gifts. The first is a card from a boy and he drew the two of us tossing a football to one another on the the playground. While this hasn't happened yet, I love that he imagined it. I shall make it happen! The other is a tissue decoupaged tea light candle holder. It warms my heart each time I light it. Love these sweet treasures. I hope to "make" more poetry with my own two hands in 2018. Check out my ovillejo challenge for today's PF. So fun! Happy New Year! xx Christie

Lovely post Amy, I'm enjoying reading all of the special homemade gifts that our poetry friends have made and received. And I agree with Mary Lee, "Your poems are homemade gifts we get to enjoy over and over again!"

Homemade/handmade gifts are very unique and special–they are a little piece of another's heart sent to you.

That's a beautiful square your friend made! My family and I make homemade gifts for each other every year and those are the best. The games are some of my favorites, because we have fun memories of playing them together.

Handmade is great, but I'm completely distracted by your 2014 poem about the old years gossiping in the warm lodge. Your poems are a handmade gift for all. Thank you, and wishing you and yours merry and bright all 2018 long!

Those gifts that were made with love and friendship are the greatest gifts of all. A very dear friend of mine gave me an afghan blanket that was crocheted by her mother. It is a truly special gift that I will treasure always. Your poem reminds us of the gifts of love from one heart to another. Thank you for sharing your gift that inspired such a thoughtful poem and question.

My partner's grandmother passed away recently at the ripe old age of 92, and she was a voracious quilter, sharing her creations with generations of families. We still have some of her quilts, and we will treasure them!

Amy, your poem is beautiful and thought provoking. As I read and reread, I thought not only of the many treasures handmade by my girls, but also, of all the extraordinary and ordinary memories that I am lucky enough to have from the last 23 years ~ all of which wouldn't have been possible without my beloved husband, John. He will always be in my heart. ❤️ (All of these memories are already inspiring my own writing~ I have an entire notebook/sketchbook dedicated to this writing).

Welcome

I'm Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and I've been sharing poems and lessons here since March 2010. The Poem Farm is a safe place for students to explore poems, and it's a place for teachers to find poetry teaching ideas. I post on Fridays during the school year (every day of April!), and I welcome you to make yourself cozy here among the words.

For El Paso, Dayton, & All Cities Bearing this Burden

Heartbroken

March 2020

I am thrilled that READ! READ! READ! will have a friend book, also illustrated by the talented Ryan O'Rourke and published by Boyds Mills/Kane!

School Visits

I adore visiting schools near and far, joyfully sharing writing in large groups and writing together in small groups. If you wish to learn more about this, please visit my website at the tab above.

Notebook Post!

Please visit my other blog - Sharing Our Notebooks - and peek into the notebooks of Matthew Grundler. Click the image and you will be there.

New Song with Barry Lane

Sometimes, my good friend Barry and I collaborate on a song. We did so this summer, with this poem I wrote in 2016. It is wonderful to have a friend with whom you can share words and music... Click the poem to be taken to the song.

Spring 2018

Spring 2018

A Podcast!

I am so happy to be part of this podcast with the wonderful authors of SHARING BOOKS, TALKING SCIENCE, Valerie Bang-Jensen and Mark Lubkowitz. We had a blast! Click the image to hear it.

Bookmark

Please print if you wish! There are 4 bookmarks per page, and each has room at the top for a hole and yarn. x

Commenting

Nonfiction

Orchard/Scholastic, 2016

First Book

Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013

Co-Author Of

With Lucy Calkins & Stephanie Parsons Heinemann 2013

Need a Poem?

If you are new here, I welcome you! If you seek a poem, click the "Find a Poem" tab above, and it will take you to a page where you can select poems by topic (dogs) or technique (alliteration). This resource is intended for personal or classroom use, and I welcome teachers and students to use these poems in lessons and as mentors. - Amy

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Listen & Watch

This is a song I wrote with Barry Lane about something parents and teachers know. A child is so much more than a score.